Beauty Shopping Augmented With New Mobile Apps

Smartphones are the hub of our digital lives today. Mobile technologies have revolutionized how we search for, try on and shop for beauty products and services. Technological advances mean beauty apps can now be used as personal beauty consultants that allow consumers to virtually try on products, analyze their own skin and schedule on-demand beauty services, all from their mobile devices.

The use of smartphone apps to engage consumers, introduce products and enhance the shopping experience has gained traction with beauty brands. There has been significant growth in mobile beauty app usage over the past few years; Modiface, the world’s No.1 mobile beauty company, has over 30 million mobile downloads. Apps also help beauty brands collect valuable data on users’ preferences and behavior. According to Euromonitor International, e-commerce and m-commerce are the fastest-growing retail platforms globally. In 2015, they totaled 6.4% of sales in the beauty space.

Smartphone users can use augmented reality technology to virtually try on different makeup and hair styles. The number of apps that allow consumers to virtually try on products and analyze their own skin has skyrocketed. ModiFace, one of the top creators of beauty and photo editing apps, provides augmented reality technology to the beauty industry. The company’s patented technology shows makeup, hair, skin and anti-aging changes live in 3D for brands such as Clinique, Estée Lauder,
Shiseido and Shu Uemura. ModiFace said its technology is used in more than 150 online and mobile apps, and has been downloaded more than 60 million times.

In June 2016, super app YouCam Makeup hit the 100 million download mark on Google play and has been downloaded 250 million times globally. YouCam Virtual Makeover & Beauty Studio allows users to try on makeup with an augmented-reality technology that uses smart detection and produces realistic results. It has earned more than 1.27 million five-star reviews and is one of the top Google photography apps.

Source: Modiface

L’Oréal launched Makeup Genius, an app that turns a smartphone into a magic mirror, in 2014. The app allows customers to see L’Oréal products and view them in real-time video. This technology is a step forward from previous makeup simulators that displayed products on static pictures. The Makeup Genius app relies on a patented tracking algorithm system that enables precise facial recognition via a live mirror camera. It can capture 64 facial points, up to 100 expressions and track head movements of up to 60 degrees. L’Oréal’s Makeup Genius app has been downloaded 6.3 million times. Rimmel also joined the virtual reality party with its Get the Look app that launched at the end of last month. The app lets users point their smartphone at a beauty ad, a photo or a person’s made-up face then virtually try on the same look.

Mobile beauty apps also use new technologies to redefine the in-store shopping experience. Virtual-reality and augmented-reality technologies allow more customization and the opportunity for brands to engage customers via gamification. The powerful beauty brand,
Sephora, is a pioneer in adopting new mobile technologies that enhance the in-store shopping experience. The company launched its first augmented-reality initiative for shoppers, the Sephora to Go mobile app, in April 2015. Consumers can interact with custom content on the app by hovering over the faces of nine founders of various beauty brands, including Laura Mercier. The app makes in-store shopping more fun and helps shoppers find the information they need when they are in Sephora stores.

Source: lorealparis.ca

Smartphones can even double as personal beauty consultants. Mobile apps today can analyze skin and then make product recommendations based on that analysis. CoverGirl introduced its augmented-reality app, BeautyU, in April 2016. BeautyU uses facial scanning and tracking to identify users’ skin tones and apply makeup looks in real time with a front-facing camera. To get a sense of the individual user’s preferences, BeautyU conducts a mobile consultation and asks a series of detailed questions such as, “What is your skin type?”; “What’s the one makeup item you can’t live without?”; and “What’s your ideal girls’ night out?” Its features focus on utility and editorial content.

For shoppers who do not have time to go to the makeup counter, IMAN Cosmetics, the premier line of makeup and skincare for women of color, has developed an app that determines a user’s “color signature.” The app uses patented color-matching technology to analyze the color of the user’s eyes, hair, skin and lips. After an analysis, the app offers customized product and look recommendations to match the user’s complexion and style.

According to Sephora, the average woman buys the wrong color foundation seven times before she finds the right shade. In order to help customers buy the right makeup, Sephora collaborated with startup Map My Beauty to launch the Pocket Contour app. The app identifies the user’s face shape and analyzes the symmetry of her facial features with a proprietary beauty analysis and makeup-mapping technology. Based on the analysis, users receive personalized, step-by-step makeup application instructions along with product recommendations. The app addresses the challenging task of contouring and provides scientific, individualized guidance on how to apply any makeup look.

Beauty service providers also use mobile apps to offer their treatments anywhere, anytime. For example, Beautified and LookBooker use geolocation-based technology that allow users to search for salons and book appointments.

Thanks to the evolution of mobile applications and technologies, smartphones have been transformed into beauty experts. Beauty apps now allow users to virtually try on products, analyze their own skin and get a personalized virtual beauty consultation. These new digital beauty services enhance consumers’ shopping experiences and allow them to make smarter purchase decisions.

I am an award-winning global retail analyst and a specialist in retail innovation and technology. I am the CEO and founder of Coresight Research, a think tank and mentorship network that advises clients on disruptive technologies reshaping today’s global retail landscape. I...